


Designated Argument

by astudyinfic



Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux, Sidewinder Series - Abigail Roux
Genre: American League is real baseball Ty!, Baseball, Friendship, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-09-23 16:42:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20343328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: It’s Red Sox or die unless you can prove a deep affiliation with another club or provide a compelling reason to hate the designated hitter.Ty's arguments against the DH don't stand a chance.





	Designated Argument

**Author's Note:**

> On Sunday, one of my all-time favorite baseball players was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Edgar Martinez was the first Designated Hitter to be inducted and that got me thinking about these two baseball-obsessed idiots and the ongoing DH argument.
> 
> Originally posted [here](https://astudyinfic.tumblr.com/post/186497892579/designated-argument-nick-and-ty-ficlet) and previously on AO3.

_It’s Red Sox or die unless you can prove a deep affiliation with another club or provide a compelling reason to hate the designated hitter. - Divide & Conquer_

Zane had laughed when Ty said that to him back when he’d first met all of Sidewinder. Surely it couldn’t be that bad, he told himself. They’d all been drinking and if the rest of the team was anything like Ty, then the stories they told were bound to be a little exaggerated. So there was no reason to think that what Ty was telling him was the gospel truth.

How wrong he was.

After things had finally settled down for them, the bookshop opened and Nick and Kelly figuring out whatever it was between them, Zane encouraged Ty to reach out to Nick, to try and rebuild some of the bridges that were burnt over the last year. It had been a rough one for all of them but Nick and Ty bore the brunt of it. If a game or two at Fenway or getting together at the shop to watch some away games helped heal that wound, so be it. 

The first few times, Ty went to Boston, giving Zane some quiet time at home. So the season was well underway by the time Nick came to Baltimore to visit. During interleague play, the Braves and the Red Sox were in Los Angeles, playing the Angels and the Dodgers respectively Since neither Nick nor Ty could get to LA for the weekend, they’d settled for watching the series at Zane and Ty’s place. 

They were three beers in by the second inning of the Braves game and Zane braced himself for a long night of drunken Marine antics. He never expected the argument, though, in hindsight, he’d been warned. 

“They play only half the game and yet want full credit. They’re not real players and you know it!” Ty waved his bottle around, gesticulating wildly at the television. “If I said I only wanted to do half my job, the CIA would probably have me killed. And yet these guys parade around as if they are just as important as anyone else in the dugout.”

Zane raised a brow at his husband’s antics but Nick just stared at the television. He’d obviously heard the argument before and wasn’t impressed. Didn’t even react, just continued to stare at the game. 

“When we watch your precious Sox later, look how bored he is, just sitting in the dugout with nothing to do.” Apparently satisfied he’d made his point, Ty nodded once and settled back on the couch. 

Nick waited for another inning before asking, “Do you feel the same about the pitchers in the American League?” Nick took a sip of his beer, still staring at the screen and Zane sat back, figuring this was a common disagreement between the two of them but also knowing that it would be entertaining no matter which way it turned out.

“Of course not!” Ty huffed. “Pitching is a highly skilled position and demanding on body and mind. Even if they only bat in a couple of games a year, they are still a vital part of the game and should be given that respect. Besides, they could be traded to a National League team and be expected to bat immediately.”

Nodding as though he expected that answer, Nick glanced over at him. “So, you’re saying that hitting is neither highly skilled nor demanding on body and mind?”

“That’s not what I said! I just said that pitchers should get special consideration because of what they do for the game.”

“And who do they pitch to? You can’t have a pitcher without hitters, Ty. What does it matter if one of them focuses on one side of the plate and the other focuses on the other?” As a lifelong Rangers fan, Zane was inclined to agree with Nick but he wasn’t about to say that right now. It was safer to let this play out without interference. 

Zane could see the squirrels in Ty’s head working overtime as he tried to come up with another argument. “Fine, so how is it fair that one player is better rested than the others? Everyone else has to go out in the field and then bat while that guy gets to sit around eating sunflower seeds while his team does half the work.”

“Both teams have designated hitters, Ty. Which means both teams have one well-rested guy. That doesn’t make things unfair to anyone and you know it. You’re grasping at straws.” Nick smirked, and Zane braced himself for whatever was coming. “You do know the National League is considering adding the DH in the next couple years, right? How are you going to deal if you don’t get to see _real _baseball, as you put it?”

Ty grumbled something under his breath and Zane couldn’t help but ask, “What was that, doll?”

“I said if they did that, I would have to deal with it.”

“Exactly,” Nick said, victorious. “Just like you have to deal with it now. Shut up and watch the game, Grady.”

“Bite me, O’Flaherty.”

“That’s Garrett’s job now.”

None of them could keep a straight face after that, all three of them laughing until tears streamed down their faces. Eventually, the laughter stopped and they fell back into watching the game. The peace was tentative though. Zane knew he hadn’t heard the end of this. 

They still had the Red Sox game still to come.


End file.
